You can’t help but think that Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor is likely not well versed with the work of Albert Einstein.
Perhaps someone from the Tigers should pull Taylor aside and recite to him the genius’ famous quote on insanity.
“Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
From the outside looking in, Taylor looks like an infant child flapping his arms wildly up the deep end of the pool. He’s barely staying afloat.
Taylor’s dealings with the media are evident of this. He frequently fronts the press with a similar demeanour; he goes straight into defensive mode when posed legitimate questions about his team’s performance, and seems to have a greater misplaced optimism than even Bill Shorten.
JT, fronting the media after yet another Tigers defeat (this time to a lowly Parramatta side) came out with perhaps the quote of the year, infuriating Tigers fans in the process. “You guys (the media) and everybody out there is focused on the competition table and the scoreboard at the end of the game.”
Instead of concentrating on what you would think would be the two primary measurements for success for a sporting team, Taylor says his team focuses on “performances”. Call me crazy, but in the world of competitive sport, there comes a time when a direct correlation between the ladder, the scoreboard and the performance of a team becomes clear!
Sitting in stone, motherless last, with a record of 5 and 11, probably provides a decent reflection of the state of the “performances” that Taylor alludes to.
Taylor’s entire demeanor when speaking to the media lacks confidence. On Monday night, after his side copped a 12-4 smashing in the penalty count, fans were understandably angry. When watching the post-match conference, fans were looking for Taylor to show something that hasn’t been cited since Tim Sheens occupied the head coach role. Passion.
While every fan appreciates that coaches need to toe the line in post-match conferences given the fines imposed by the NRL for hitting out, there’s a vast difference between stating the facts (which is all Taylor did) and showing even an ounce of displeasure at being wronged.
Fans wanted the anger of Geoff Toovey, the stone face of Wayne Bennett, the borderline-serial-killer mentality of Des Hasler. Something. Instead, what they got was yet another mediocre on camera display from Taylor, where he again gave fans no reason to like, let alone trust him.
You can’t help but think that if this is the way he goes about the business of dealing with the media; does he carry the same manner in his dealings with the players?
The attitude that Taylor seems to instil in the club was evident in a recent interview with veteran prop Keith Galloway, where Galloway was asked if a change in attitude was needed following a last up drubbing at the hands of the Panthers. Galloway answered the question with a shrug of the shoulders and defended their approach with a feeble “we’re trying hard” and “the effort is there”.
Which brings me back to my original point. Taylor seems to abide by the “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again” philosophy, rather than the (arguably more productive) school of thought from Einstein.
In a game where change is the only constant; where rules change daily depending on interpretation (don’t get me started!), where offensive plays and defensive lines need to continually adapt, surely, at three quarters through the season, Taylor must admit his current method isn’t working.
With the exception of games where Robbie Farah has been missing, Taylor has stuck with a bench made up entirely of forwards.
The only time he has used a player you could consider a utility on the bench is when Mania Cherrington has been used as a second hooker when Dene Halatau starts the game at 9.
Josh Drinkwater showed on Monday night that he is a capable half, who may well provide the stability that the Tigers attack has lacked all year. Mitch Moses, while showing signs of brilliance, has been underwhelming in his first full season in first grade.
Given the pack that the Tigers possess in terms of size, stamina, and coverage for other positions, it makes sense to trial something different. Why not start Drinkwater at 6 to go about gaining a better control over the game, with Moses coming on in 14 at the back-end of the first half when opposition forwards are getting tired?
Taylor is capable of thinking outside the box. He showed this in the loss to the Panthers when he chose to play Kyle Lovett at centre instead of employing the obvious choice of playing the experienced Chris Lawrence in the centres.
Most would have preferred that Taylor had chosen a different time to showcase his ability for creative thinking!
What this passage of play also highlighted more than anything, however, was that Taylor seems completely resistant to change. Despite the fact that Lovett made Panthers centre Dean Whare look like Usain Bolt during a period that netted Penrith four unanswered tries, Taylor stuck to his guns, much to the ire of the Tigers faithful.
While everyone is well aware of the endless drama over at Concord – from boardroom clashes, empty coffers and an uncanny ability in recent times to throw the coach under the bus – you can’t help but think that in a game where a modern coach must adapt or die, it is hard to see a future as head coach for someone like Jason Taylor.
While Taylor has reiterated on many occasions that he has the support of the board and the players, the Tigers fan-base seem to have run out of patience. Most fans can’t help but look forward to Mad Monday in the hope that Taylor unleashes an open right hand on the face of Farah, a la the end of his tenure with the Rabbitohs.
Who knows, maybe this might knock some sense into the captain at the same time!
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